Victor Hedman signed a contract extension in Tampa Bay on Tuesday morning and it sent a clear message to his former teammate and captain Steven Stamkos.
The Tampa Bay Lightning were among the active teams on the first day of free agency yesterday. They made many moves, including the surprising decision to let Steven Stamkos hit the market and sign with another team.
However, to replace him, general manager Julien BriseBois signed another interesting forward: Jake Guentzel.
And with the leftover money, BriseBois offered a contract extension to defenseman Victor Hedman.
Hedman, 33, signed a four-year contract valued at $8M a year.
A lot of people believe Hedman's contract extension sent a message to Stamkos.
After he couldn't reach a deal with the team who drafted him first overall in 2008, Stamkos signed a four-year contract valued at $8M a year with the Nashville Predators.
The Lightning were ready to offer that salary to Hedman, but not to Stamkos, which sends a clear message to Stamkos.
"Victor Hedman has signed an extension with the Lightning, 4 years, 8 million.
This is identical to the contract Steven Stamkos signed with the Nashville Predators yesterday"
Every general managers must make tough calls from time to time, and while he got criticized for not keeping Stamkos in Tampa, Julien BriseBois did great moves to get back on the fans' good side.
Source: Hockey Patrol
Tampa Bay Lightning humiliate Stamkos with new signing
DO YOU THINK THE TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING MADE A MISTAKE BY SIGNING VICTOR HEDMAN OVER STEVEN STAMKOS? JULY 2 103 ANSWERS |
YES |
NO |
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